The last summery weekend on the beach

October 8, 2023. Vila Chã to Apúlia 28 km

With yesterday’s heat stress burned into our memories, be were sure to rise before sunrise, get a quick breakfast at Cafe Sandy downstairs from where we stayed, and get on the road. It was so nice to get out into the cool air with the sun not yet up. Very few people were out, just a runner or two as we walked northwards along the Atlantic coast, almost always on a boardwalk.

We started out in a natural area with protected dunes, but soon we entered beach towns that started to have heavy pressure from families and local tourists. This was an unexpected summer-like weekend and one last chance for people to get to the beach. There were families everywhere, hundreds of cyclists, and a few runners. Although there was a designated walking path along the sea, we stayed to the right, next to the condos where we savored as much shade as we could get.

The lessons we learned on the North Camino hold true, but there are new lessons to learn. Now the challenge is not the mountains or the constant rain, or never knowing where to find food, but rather to keep hydrated and avoid overheating. It’s easier to do longer mileage on this flat landscape compared to the mountains. We sometimes don’t use the trekking poles, and they can get stuck between the boards on the boardwalk.

We wanted to make a full 20 km before lunch, before the sun would certainly come out and sap our strength. Fortunately we found a nice little beach cave, hidden back from one of the natural areas, and only a few people in it. The waiter was very pleasant and helpful. We each had two cans of green tea, and stayed away from beer based on yesterday’s expericence. We were refreshed when we got back onto the path.

We walked through a beautiful old historic town called Vila do Conde and met tow Czech women.

As we approached the town of Apúlia we experienced the “war of the Camino signs” as we call it. Different hostels and businesses want people to come their way to try to make it financially. We took a wrong turn ( following one sign) and then realized we needed to follow the other sign.

We were sure we would get a room as we approached out hostel. It opens at 2pm and we arrived at 2:10. We walked up to our double room and used the shared kitchen, bathroom and shower with no wait as there seemed to be few or no people arrived yet. Later, we went to the grocery store and bought bread, cheese, grapes, yoghurt and wine. I bought the expensive wine at $5 / bottle rather than the $2 no name bottle. It was good and we shared it with another pilgrim from Ireland.

We are in good shape. Today was easier with lower temps. The next few days look good with gradually lower temperatures, before the shift over to wet and cool fall weather in about 4-5 days.